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Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Latest on Armijo Ballot Battle
This afternoon's Albuquerque Tribune has a story on Jeff Armijo's claim that he's still on the general election ballot as the Democratic candidate for state auditor. It mostly rehashes info that's already out there. However, the story does reveal that Albuquerque City Councilor Ken Sanchez, who was testing the waters for a run at replacing Armijo on the ballot, has decided to stop his efforts because of legal considerations:
Albuquerque City Councilor Ken Sanchez, who spent Labor Day weekend working to line up votes for Saturday's meeting, said his understanding is that he cannot run.
"Based on what I've heard, (Armijo) is officially on the ballot, so I can't run against him. He won the Democratic primary, and I don't think I would have any legal standing." +
Meanwhile, Hector Balderas, the much-liked progressive Dem who is the state rep from Wagon Mound, has said he's continuing his quest to replace Armijo on the ballot, at least for now:
At least one of several Democrats who aimed for the auditor's job after Armijo announced his withdrawal, state Rep. Hector Balderas, said he's still interested in running.
"I'm still planning on participating in the convention unless a greater authority tells me that's no longer the case," said Balderas, a Democrat from Wagon Mound.
"His representation was that he was withdrawing."
Here's the latest take on the legalities of the situation from the NM Attorney General's office, again quoting the Tribune story:
But Sam Thompson, public information officer with the New Mexico Attorney General's Office, said the law doesn't state that Armijo's announcement counts as a withdrawal.
Nor does the law require a written notice of withdrawal for a candidate to be removed from a ballot, she explained.
"The law does not state a requirement for how this process needs to be done," Thompson said. "The issue appears to be between the candidate and his party."
If there's a quorum at Saturday's scheduled State Central Committee meeting, the proceedings should be compelling indeed.
September 6, 2006 at 01:31 PM in Candidates & Races, Democratic Party | Permalink
Comments
The only thing that can save the Democrats is if Armijo calls it quits and we get a fresh face like Hector Balderas to run. I don't think he owes anyone and people really like him. How about it Jeff Armijo? Put your state and party first, not you.
Posted by: I Vote | Sep 6, 2006 3:00:10 PM
Is your concern that Jeff is guilty or that Jeff having been charged in now something to be discarded. I believe that Jeff is a person. I believe that Jeff is an American, I understand that he served in Iraq and Katrina in the reserves. I believe that he is entitled to a hearing on the charges that have been brought against him BEFORE any actions are taken against him.
I hope that Jeff is innocent. More than anything else I hope that we can act in a civilized manner and support and respect his rights.
I do not know Jeff well enough to make a decision as to his guilt or innocence. I also feel that nothing that the party does now will "save the party". I hope that everybody understands that we all benefit the most when we all follow the law and allow the courts to perform their function.
Terry Riley
Posted by: Terry Riley | Sep 6, 2006 3:41:29 PM
I've got a great idea, let's do what Terry Riley says and wait around to find out if Jeff Armijo is judged abusive to women by a court of law. Then, when a court of law finds him guilty sometime in,say, 2008 dump him from the Auditor's office -- just like Robert Vigil. Hmmmmmmm, that's fantastic political strategy and certainly worked well for the party this go around.
Or, we could dump this guy now because of his obviously poor judgement and inclination to mislead his party members. That seems to be the wise choice. He dropped out, the secretary of state ruled against him as did the AG. He shouldn't have siad he was going to drop out if he wasn't.
Posted by: david | Sep 6, 2006 4:53:32 PM
So what if the DPNM does a poor job? We are the democrats, we vote and we need a democratic State Auditor. If we play into all the politics when we don't even know the real story and are all just guessing, we are as bad as the rest. Let's move forward and support Hector Balderas who we know is a great legislator and will make a great state auditor. If we don't, and fight each other we all lose and will end up with a Repiblican State Auditor.
I can vouch for Hector.. he is my friend, he can be trusted and he is an independent person. He saw a void and offered to fill it. Think about him putting himself out there for all of us.
Posted by: Charlotte | Sep 6, 2006 5:08:04 PM
David: this is a human being with a life we're talking about. He is being talked about as if he's a monster when all that has happened is hes been accused of a rather minor thing by a woman whose goal and state of mind are suspect to begin with.
I think he met with the governor and was threatened or bullied into agreeing to get out. Because the governor doesn't like scandals for personal reasons. When he had a chance to think and talk to people, Armijo probably realized how unfair the "deal" was. So he decided not to go through with it and low and behold the rules and laws of the state suddenly changed to make it so a faxed press release from the governor was a formal legal document. Amazing. Now the sec of state and ag are pulled into it.
The whole thing stinks of behind the scenes plots. Too bad Armijo and maybe now Banderas will be given up due to the vanity and silly ambition of people who could care less about humans - only their own power.
Posted by: C.C. | Sep 6, 2006 5:10:15 PM
He said he was dropping out, even if he never filed the paperwork, and then changed his mind. However noble it may seem to defend him, this is not a court case, it is a political race. Politically it will not help Democrats statewide if Armijo stays in the race. You have to chose your battles or risk losing the war.
Posted by: Marc | Sep 6, 2006 5:38:32 PM
I am perplexed at this time, because we are replacing one unethical candidate with another. Isn't there a better choice out there than Hector. This guy has absoloutely no experience and from what I heard, "...absoultely no passion to serve the people of NM." Jeff Armijo tunred out to be a disgrace to the Democratic Party, but Hector Balderas is probably even worse oin many different aspects...including his moral judgment!
Posted by: John Martinez | Oct 14, 2006 2:49:06 PM
I attended the same University as Hector and what I remember of him was not very pleasant. He was never a person of integrity. I heard on numerous occasions that he was involved in a homosexual relationship while he was married. I cannot substantiate that rumor, but it was widely believed that Hector was predisposed to homosexuality.
I am not implying that homosexuality is wrong, however being that he was married, would constitute infidelity, which would be very similar to what Jeff Armijo is accused of. Hence, is Hector really a better candidate for this position than Jeff Armijo. Unfortunately I see many similar characteristics between the two.
I am saddened to say that I am a lifelong Democrat that will be voting for the Republican candidate. This will be the first time that I have strayed from party lines, but I feel that it is the right thing to do given the circumstances.
Kim
Posted by: Kim | Oct 14, 2006 3:09:54 PM
I would agree with the above poster 100%, we need to bring competence and integrity to Santa Fe. Thus, we must not elect Mr. Balderas, an individual who barely even knows the difference between a Republican and a Democrat. Hector is utterly incompetent in every aspect and must not be elected to any public office, much less allowed to practice law (which coincidentally he failed in, and was forced to seek other ventures). He is an incompetent attorney and an incompetent State Representative. Therefore, we must VOTE AGAINST HECTOR!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: John | Nov 7, 2006 12:08:34 AM
